Best 6 players in IPL history
The Indian Premier League started on 18th April
2008 with Brendon McCullum scoring 154* in the opening match. Since then the
IPL has become a hit around the world with top-quality international players
along with young domestic Indian players.
In the 12 years history of the best tournament in the world,
there have been great players who have entertained the crowd. The Indian
Premier League is a platform to showcase their talent and become a part of the
national squad.
These top-quality Indian and international players have made
a major impact in the 12 seasons so far. Here we look at the Best 6 players in
IPL history.
1.
Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle is one of the greatest players that IPL has a season
so far. He made his IPL debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009 and featured it till 2010. In the two seasons he played for KKR, Gayle made 463 runs
from 16 matches with the best score of 88. The explosive left-handed West Indies
batsman did not score any fifty in 2009. In 2010, Gayle posted 2
half-centuries.
He had great success for Royal Challengers Bangalore from
2011 till 2017. In the 2011 edition, Gayle scored 608 runs from 12 matches with
2 centuries and 3 half-centuries with the best score of 107.
In the 2012 edition, Gayle made a big statement with 733
runs from 15 matches with 1 century and 7 half-centuries. His best score in the
tournament was 128 not out. For his 733 runs, Gayle was awarded the Orange Cap.
The 2013 edition of IPL saw Chris Gayle plundered Pune
Warriors India smashing 175 not out off 66 balls which remains the highest
individual T20 total to date. During that season, he scored 708 runs from 16
matches with 1 century and 4 half-centuries. Gayle made just 196 runs from 9
matches in 2014 with no noticeable performances.
He returned with a bang in the 2015 edition with 491 runs
from 14 matches with 1 century and 2 half-centuries. His best score was 117.
Despite RCB reaching the finals of the 2016 edition, Gayle played
10 matches and scored 227 runs with 2 half-centuries with the best score of 76. He
failed again in the 2017 edition with just 200 runs from 9 matches with 1
half-century only.
After his failures in 2017, Gayle was bought by Kings XI
Punjab in 2018. Opening the innings, Gayle scored 368 from 11 matches with 1 century and 3 half-centuries. His best score in 2018 edition was 104* against
Sunrisers Hyderabad.
He was retained by Kings XI Punjab franchise in 2019
edition and scored 490 runs from 13 matches with 4 half-centuries. His best
score in the tournament was 99*. He is the only player in IPL history to score
6 centuries so far.
In the Indian Premier League history, Gayle has the record
of hitting 326 sixes in 124 innings which proves his hard-hitting abilities.
2.
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is the only player in IPL history to play for a
single franchise since the start. He is currently the leading run-getter so far
with 5412 runs from 177 matches (169 innings) with 5 centuries and 36
half-centuries.
He is the only batsman to score the greatest number of runs in
an IPL edition so far. Leading from the front, Kohli made a staggering 973 runs
from 16 matches with an amazing average of 81.08. In that season, he scored 4
centuries and 7 half-centuries. His best score in the tournament was 113
against Kings XI Punjab.
Despite Royal Challengers Bangalore finishing last in 2018
edition, Kohli led from the front with 530 runs from 14 matches at an average
of 48.18 which included 4 half-centuries. His best score in the 2018 edition
was 92* against Mumbai Indians.
In last year’s edition, Kohli posted 464 runs from 14 matches
with an average of 33.14. He hit 1 century and 2 half-centuries. His best score
in the tournament was 100 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens,
Kolkata. Despite his efforts, RCB finished last in the points table.
3.
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers is one of the best foreign players that IPL
has seen to date. He made his debut for Delhi Daredevils in 2008 and played
till 2010. After playing just 6 matches in the 2008 edition, de Villiers showed
his skills during the 2009 edition.
He scored 465 runs from 15 matches with 1 century and 3
half-centuries. His best score in the tournament was 105 not out against
Chennai Super Kings. During 2010 edition, de Villiers scored just 111 runs from
7 matches with the best score of 45.
From 2011 onwards, he has been part of the Royal Challengers
Bangalore squad. He has played some brilliant knocks which made life tough
for opposition bowlers with innovative stroke play.
In the 2015 edition of IPL, de Villiers scored 513 runs from
16 matches with 1 century and 2 half-centuries. His best score in the
tournament was 133* against Mumbai Indians. He continued his sensational form
in 2016 edition also with 687 runs from 16 matches with 1 century and 6
half-centuries. His best score in the tournament was 129* against Gujarat Lions.
de Villiers and Kohli have been the backbone of RCB batting line up.
de Villiers scored
480 runs from 12 matches with 6 half-centuries in the 2018 edition. In last
year’s edition, the hard-hitting South African batsman posted 442 from 12
matches with 5 half-centuries. His best score in the tournament was 82*. De
Villiers has produced magical knocks against top-quality bowlers which include
Dale Steyn and others.
The South African batsman played a total of 154 matches and
scored 4395 runs with 3 centuries and 33 half-centuries.
4.
MS Dhoni
Under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings has won
3 IPL titles which include back to back wins in 2010 and 2011. After 2-year
ban, CSK won the title for the 3rd time in 2018.
MS Dhoni is leading Indian batsman to hit most sixes in IPL.
He has smashed 209 sixes from 170 innings. He has scored so far 4432 runs from
190 matches with 23 half-centuries.
After CSK was banned for 2 years, MS Dhoni captained Rising
Pune Supergiant team and led them to the finals in the 2017 edition. After a
disappointing 2017 season for RPS, Dhoni returned in brilliant form with 455
runs from 16 matches.
He hit 3 half-centuries during the 2018 edition. His best
score in the 2017 edition was 79* against Kings XI Punjab. In last year’s
edition, Dhoni showed his brilliance with 416 runs from 15 matches with 3
half-centuries. His best score in the tournament was 84* off 48 balls against
RCB. Despite his efforts, CSK lost the match by just 1 run.
MS Dhoni is one of the best wicketkeepers in IPL history
with 38 stumpings. He is second among most catches with 94 since 2008.
5.
Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga is the leading wicket-taker in IPL history.
He started to play for Mumbai Indians in 2009 and is a part of the franchise.
The pace bowler has taken so far 170 wickets from 122 matches (122 innings)
with an economy of 7.14 runs per over.
He has 6 four-wicket hauls in IPL history which is equal to
Sunil Narine. Along with 6 four-wicket hauls, Malinga registered the best
figures of 5/13. Malinga played key roles in helping Mumbai Indians winning
many matches from nowhere. He won the Purple Cap during the 2011 edition with
28 wickets from 16 matches.
He was the mentor of the Mumbai Indians squad in 2018
edition. Malinga has been a part of the Mumbai Indians squad which has won the
IPL title record four times. In the 2019 edition, he took 16 wickets from 12
matches with the best figures of 4 for 31. Malinga took the wicket of Shardul
Thakur and helped Mumbai Indians register a thrilling 1 run win over CSK in
last year’s finals played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
6.
Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo is one of the best all-rounders in IPL history.
He made his debut for Mumbai Indians in 2008 and played for them till 2010.
During that period, Bravo scored 457 runs from 30 matches. With the ball, he
took 26 wickets.
Bravo is the fifth leading wicket-taker in IPL history with
147 wickets from 134 matches (131 innings) with 2 four-wicket hauls. With the
bat, he has scored 1483 runs from 134 matches with the best score of 70* for Mumbai
Indians in the 2009 edition.
From 2011 onwards, he was an integral part of the Chennai
Super King's side. Apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dwayne Bravo is the only bowler
to win the Purple Cap twice in IPL history. In the 2013 edition, the all-rounder
took 32 wickets from 18 matches which are a record of the greatest number of
wickets in an IPL edition.
In 2015 again, Bravo showed his bowling skills by picking 26
wickets from 16 matches which helped CSK reach the playoffs stage.
After the 2-year ban, Dwayne Bravo played for Gujarat Lions in
2016. He had a disappointing season for them with just 99 runs from 15 matches.
With the ball, Bravo performed reasonably well with 17 wickets from 15 matches
with an economy of 8.82 runs per over.
Dwyane Bravo showed his skills with a sensational 68 in the
opening match of 2018 edition against Mumbai Indians which helped CSK register
a memorable 1 wicket win. Apart from that Bravo scored 141 runs from 16
matches. With the ball, Bravo played a key role taking 14 wickets from 16
matches with an economy of 9.96 per over.
He was retained for the 2019 edition by CSK. He could not
contribute much with just 80 runs from 12 matches with the best score of 27. With
the ball also, Bravo took 11 wickets from 12 matches with figures of 3/33. He
went for an economy of 8.01 runs per over.
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